Box time, Ladies, please!

The Daily Telegraph celebrated International Women’s Day this week with the glad tidings that lady drivers will pay £360 more per annum for their motor insurance once new EU rules come into force later this year. That’s according to Labour trainspot secretary John Wouldcock at least, who explained that, even though an average woman, would pay an extra £362, young women (17-22) would face “a far steeper increase.”

Tory MP Douglas Car Swell was quick to finger Euro meddling for this latest piece of insanity. “Three weeks ago the Prime Minister held a meeting for the insurance industry at Downing Street,” he noted with pride. “But because we are not prepared to do anything about Europe, we can do absolutely nothing about this madness.”

Analysis by the Treasury has apparently shown that women will pay almost 25% more, while men’s premiums will come down by 10% at best. Despite this modest reduction, the Torygraph reports that “motoring groups” fear young men will become intoxicated with these new cut-price premiums, buy faster cars, and use them to unleash even greater carnage on Britain’s roads.

Meanwhile “insurance companies” have said that if they want lower premiums again, women need to get themselves telematicised. Labour, indeed, have said they would force insurers to offer their policyholders black-box-spy-in-cab technology if they get re-elected (doing nothing to offset the last administration’s reputation for having a damn good go at creating a full-on surveillance society).

But weirdly named telematics firm Wunelli told Insurance Times this week that this won’t be necessary, as they plan to ensure everyone is fully big-brothered up long before Labour get a sniff of power again. Common standards must be agreed across the industry before the EC Gender Ruling comes into force in December, the firm argues. Happily, “Wunelli is in the perfect position to provide a roadmap for this agreement.”